Waterfalls, Glaciers, Google Maps, monogamous cichlids, and butterflies.

These are all just a few of my favorite things, but who could ever forget to have a great dress for the holidays. No, shut up….where in the www.am I going with this?  I wanted to write about my very recent misfortunate accident, but instead I have key words and Christmas on the brain. If I was a mastermind I would have orchestrated this into a hymn, a jam,  or a jymn….something poetic and catchy. Keyhole tops and diamond cut dresses, OPI polish, and Hanky Panky laces. Oh blogging is so much fun, but not as fun as falling face first on the 20 degree sidewalk and having a key shoved through your hand. Yes, all the stars were aligned and this time science was working against me. I prefer something in cranberry or black for the holidays. The emergency room convinced me that yes there was a key in my hand, so no need for me to look at the  slit of a wound until far later in the day. It wasn’t as bad as it may sound, almost painless, and the hole is healing fast. Now I’m smoothing my band aid and wondering how to shop for the family on my budget. Watch the video on the website bewareofthedoghouse.com it has complicated the minds of men shopping for gifts for the wife, fiancé, or girlfriend. Funny, how diamonds are being pushed through online media even though some women really do like practical gifts. Oh Come on, you should watch it, much better than trying to elf yourself.

The key for buying a great gift for the holiday is in knowing the person you are buying for.  Pull that twig out of your jymn and good Luck out there!  Neiman Marcus does not have a location in the Pittsburgh area, but the keyhole dress is available through their online store.

When the dog bites,
when the bee stings,
when I’m feeling sad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
and then I don’t feel, so bad

Gosh darn it! I lost my cell phone in Marshalls’ parking lot. Don’t even get me started on how, the lost phone was three years old and not worth the embarrassing explanation of how absent minded I have been behaving. During the past 6 month I’ve been researching the iPhone. My provider AT&T just got the new iPhone3G. Since my company offers a generous reimbursement for computer equipment I found this to be a great time to ask if an iphone would qualify. The first response I received was no, the reason; because recently they had to tighten the restrictions due to some abuse of policy and the of course the national budget. Employees were buying cameras and other computer accessories. The rules use to include ANYTHING that would plug into a USB port. Now don’t let your imagination run too wild, the people I work with are the really nice decent family types “RNDFT”. Well, back to my story… I couldn’t take no as an answer so I moved along to another supervisor who was convinced that the iPhone would be useful to my position here as webmaster. He contacted the department responsible for this decision and also responded with a big fat NO. Aw shucks I’ve been shot down again. I guess I’ll just pick up a cheap Ericsson or Pantech until I can save for the iPhone.

The Next Day: Low and behold the topic comes up “Women and negotiating”. I over hear coworkers talking about the reasons why so many women lack negotiating skills and the effects it has on them financially over a lifetime. They had gathered this information at the annual governor’s conference for women. Apparently, on the average women are not negotiating for higher salaries because they don’t enjoy it. All the while the majority of men are putting more time and energy into negotiating because they perceive it as a game or sport. I really don’t like sports, but this topic has my interest. I still may be able to get this iphone. I know it is no comparison to a higher salary, but we all have to start somewhere. Therefore, I plan to negotiate further. My negotiation: If this phone can be paid for by the company I will be happy to sync it with my outlook box at work therefore making myself more available to the company. If not then it will be restricted to my personal usage and I will be less available to the company. If anybody can come up with more reasons that a webmaster such as myself could utilize an iphone please feel free to share comments with me. I plan to begin the next round of my negotiation sometime in the next two weeks.

easynegotiontechniques.com

I was running late this morning and after driving a half a mile of my way to work I realized I’d forgotten my cell phone.

This usually does not bother me, but it seems to bother most people who try to call me throughout the day. I decided to go back home and fetch my personal hand held tracking device. I made a wide illegal u-turn at the next intersection and spilled my coffee down my shirt and lap. Ran up to my 3rd floor, grabbed the cell, and then I’m off into the car. Cobblestone roads are not friendly in a jeep, once again my coffee is all over my shirt. Today just happens to be “the day in a life of a credit union” therefore marketing’s cameras will be documenting the work day. I am not in any condition to be photographed, my stained shirt doesn’t even match my pants.

If you are still reading this you must be a really good friend. I’m now seated at my desk. The office is very quiet…at least for now. There is a brand new bag of Dunkin Doughnuts coffee placed on my desk. Thank goodness the hard core coffee lovers in IT do not have to drink Folgers anymore. This brightens my day. I stash the bag under my desk. Turn on the computer and look to my left. I realize that my most valuable co-worker has taken the day off. I am happy for him… I hope he is still sleeping or watching cartoons.

At this point it is time to start some work, I reach into my purse and find that my glasses are not there. Oh Great!!! I’ll be reading with one eye all day. Today has been off to a bad start. I throw away a clump of receipts collecting in my purse. Amongst this clump I find a fortune cookie message… “Age can never hope to with you while your heart is young”. I was hoping for something more profound.